Paddy Jackson showed us on Saturday that he belongs at the top.
The Ulster outhalf had a fantastic game for Ireland as they beat South Africa 26-20 at Newlands Stadium. His performance was not perfect but it was not far off.
Jackson landed all but one of his kicks and popped over a crucial drop goal before half-time to level the scores at 13-13, while Ireland were down to 13 men.
One of the most remarkable aspects of his 83 minutes on the pitch was his tackling. Jackson made 10 successful tackles and only missed one. He may have been knocked back on a couple of occasions but his body soaked the hits and slowed his man.
Generously listed as 5-foot-10 and a shade over 13-stone, Jackson was giving up a lot of inches and pounds to the Springboks he was attempting to stop in their tracks.
A short passage of play perfectly demonstrates how Jackson did his defensive job, rolled with the hits and got back into the line. It was exactly the type of effort 14-man Ireland needed.
Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi… who’s next?
One of Jackson’s most important contributions of all was not credited as a tackle in the official match stats. It was nonetheless huge.
82:36 on the clock and Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw are attempting to wrench J.P Pietersen out of play, to win the match. Pietersen attempts to roll his upper body to get the ball down but Jackson arrives to finish the job.
Johnny Sexton has some serious competition for that 10 jersey. It was fantastic to see Jackson’s great performance acknowledged by his teammate and outhalf rival Ian Madigan.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGjbMrFEyje/?taken-by=ian.madigan&hl=en
They’re all in this together.
